Kian Midwinter: Personal Research
Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
Film Title:
Don't Breathe
Year of Release:
2016
Director:
Fede Alverez
URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8XwWwPT8L
Shots of Victims
71
Shots of Aggressor:
29
Total Shots:
106
Graphic Content: 3
Man gets shot in head
Woman tied up
Man is strangled
Sound Techniques:
Diegetic sound
Non-Diegetic sound
Foley
Ambient noise
Editing Techniques:
Quick cuts
Camera Techniques:
Wide shot
Shot Reverse Shot
Locations:
Old House
School Cafeteria
Main character's house
Film Title:
REC
Year of Release:
2007
Director:
Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza
URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgJ4xeDUhMk
Shots of Victims
17
Shots of Aggressor:
5
Total Shots:
25
Graphic Content: 3
Zombie Policeman bleeding
Woman with cuts on her arm
Sound Techniques:
Non-Diegetic sound
Foley
Editing Techniques:
Quick cuts
Long takes
Camera Techniques:
Pan shots
First person POV
Tilt Shot
Locations:
Fire Station
Apartment block
Film Title:
An American Werewolf in London
Year of Release:
1981
Director:
John Landis
URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uw6QPThCqE
Shots of Victims
51
Shots of Aggressor:
8
Total Shots:
105
Graphic Content: 3
Dead friend
Cuts on body
Scratched face
Sound Techniques:
Non-Diegetic sound
Soundtrack
Editing Techniques:
Quick Cuts
Camera Techniques:
Close up
Medium close up
Wide shot
Locations:
Trafalgar Square
A forest
Film Title:
Morgan
Year of Release:
2016
Director:
Luke Scott
URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWlJqsF_WVw
Shots of Victims
5
Shots of Aggressor:
5
Total Shots:
18
Graphic Content: 1
Sound Techniques:
Non-Diegetic sound
Dialogue
Editing Techniques:
Quick Cuts
Long Take
Camera Techniques:
Pan
Shoulder to shoulder shot
Wide shot
Locations:
Underground facility
Forest
Mansion
From my study I have discovered an overlying trend in each of the trailers I looked at, this was the idea that it showed off the victim(s), aggressor(s) and setting. This was to show off the actors and filming locations in order to try and rope in viewers. The four films I looked at were all different: Don’t breathe a slasher film, Morgan a psychological horror film, REC a zombie film and An American werewolf in London a werewolf film. Another difference in most of the films were released at different times don’t breath and Morgan in 2016; with REC in 2007 and An American Werewolf in 1981.
In the trailers I have studied there is a common pattern. In teaser trailers there are roughly around 20 shots, whereas in full length trailers there are usually 100 shots. This is because the full length trailer is trying to show off more of the film such as the story and characters where the teaser trailer is more like a preview to the film.
In the trailer for don’t breathe a total of 106 shots are used; it shows off the films antagonist as a blind old man living on his own in an abandoned looking house. The trailer tells us that the teenagers (victims) have broken into the house to try to steal something. The man then shoots the girls boyfriend and proceeds to hunt down the two other teenagers. The trailer uses a lot of ambient non-diegetic sound to highlight the suspense and worry that the teenagers are faced with as the blind man uses his other senses to find them. The trailer conforms to horror trailer norms as it uses less shots of the antagonist (29) and more shots of the victim (71). The trailer also cleverly uses Foley to highlight hearing as a key feature of the blind man’s ability of improved senses.
Furthermore, in the trailer for Morgan, in which focuses on a lab experiment of some kind, in an old English countryside background; the trailer which is shorter than usual due to being a teaser only uses a total of 18 shots. It shows of an equal number of shots for the victim and aggressor as it uses 5 for each. The film seems to be focusing more on the lab setting than the actual characters itself as the camera moves around the setting with pan shots, non-diegetic sound playing an eerie soundtrack and dialogue to add to the creepy background.
Alternatively, the trailer for REC, a zombie film that is shot from a first person, released in 2007. It shows off the film from the cameraman’s perspective as he films a reporter for a TV show. This makes it hard for there to be fast cuts so the majority of shots are long. Therefore, this leads to a shorter trailer as the cuts are longer. There are a lot of graphic scenes such as a man who is zombified and bleeding.
The trailer for An American Werewolf in London the strangest trailer of them all as it was released in 1981; this makes this the oldest trailer on my list. Because of this the editing is much slower and there aren’t as much special effects as in the others. However, there are a lot of practical effects such as the transformation of the main character into the werewolf and the undead body of his best friend. The film also follows the trend of their being much more shots of the victim than the villain, as there are 51 shots of the victim and 8 shots of the antagonist.
Overall, from what I have studied I have discovered that the major trend in horror trailers is that they like to show off the characters in an exclusive detail, but focus on the victim much more than they do with the aggressor. They also tend to show off the setting of the film especially when the setting has a creepy and mysterious background. Using these patterns I will try to implement this into my own trailer; I plan to include more shots of the victim than aggressor and try to intensify the setting of the film.
Activity 5
“Ouija: origin of evil” is the prequel to the film ”ouija” and tells a similar story to the first film.
The trailer shows us a glimpse of what the film's story is: a family consisting of a single mother and two children, scam people by making them believe that their house is haunted. However, upon purchasing a ouija board the youngest daughter is seemingly possessed and starts acting strangely. The narration of the trailer follows this chronologically showing the family first as the scam artists and then increasing the tempo of the trailer into something that seems more perilous.
The mise en scene used in the trailer highlights the period that the film is surrounding. For example this screen grab from very early on in the trailer shows a very american 60s esque house which is obviously one of the major settings in this film. The low key lighting used also connotes that this film will hone in on some very dark themes and the pitch black door that is shown in the background brings about a mysterious feeling which can be linked to Barthes enigma theory of hiding an enigma within the narrative.
In the background of the trailer the song “i’m into something good plays” this also highlights the era of music that was around in this time as the music has an iconic 60s vibe to it that promotes the feeling that we are watching something set in the past.
Furthermore the costume used in the trailer shown underneath is also there to connote the period but also a sort of innocence for the younger daughter. She is shown with a very 60s style haircut and in a school uniform. This promotes a innocence for this character, even though, quite ironically her character is the main antagonist of the film. This sets up a creepy atmosphere surrounding the character and makes it slightly more terrifying.
The prop used of the ouija board, similarly the film's title, explains to us that this film is going to be discussing paranormal themes. This is due to the boards widely believed ability to be used to communicate to spirits and the dead which from the trailer is happening in this film. A large connection can be made between the young girl and the board as the spirits possession of the girl is another way for the spirit to communicate with the alive.
The enigma of this story is the ghost. Through the trailer we learn that it could be of two possible people, either the father of the children or, due to narration by another male character, a deceased polish man who has come back to possess the young girl. This creates a sense of mystery that is used to draw in the audience into wanting to see the film, maybe just so that they can find out who the spirit is.
Applying the logic of Burton's genre theory the main protagonist seems to be the mother who is trying to help her youngest as best she can. Furthermore, the elder daughter and the priest that are also shown in the trailer are the stock characters of the film. The plot itself is shown as the family trying to get rid off the evil spirit possessing the young girl and the main icon of the film is the ouija board. The setting of the film is 1960s America with the main theme being family and paranormal activity.
Activity 6
The poster I have chosen to use is the poster from the film paranormal activity. The poster here shoes a family of two disturbed by the shadow at the door. This shadow connotes evil as it is seen towering over the family and they are aware of its presence and the non verbal communication of the two family members who are pointing and squirming away from the shadow shows their acknowledgment of the creature. The setting much like the trailer before shows the family’s bedroom, this connotes a personal atmosphere making the film seem more fresh and exciting as the idea of being attacked inside a place that is usually considered safe is rather daunting. Furthermore, this scene is taken straight from the film which makes the poster seem a lot more authentic, this shows off the films POV which is obviously going to be a found footage film shot from the perspective of CCTV cameras that have been set up around the house. Because the long shot shows the couple wearing pyjamas, once again this connotes a personal feel to the film that makes us feel more attracted to seeing it as we want to know how the family survive the encounter. Furthermore, with the door being open there is a mysterious sense to this shot that makes us wonder if there really is anything behind the door. The images blue hue and the time shown at the bottom shows us that this scene is being shot at night which further creates a spooky atmosphere as it is showing a still of the film during the most un-nerving time.
Moreover, at the top of the poster the designer has featured a quotation from a website called “bloody-disgusting,” in which review horror movies. The designer has featured the writing in white serif font upon a black background to make it stand out more to the reader. The use of an opinion is to show the reader some of the positive opinions of the watchers, this is to compel them to go and see the movie. The writing also indents the phrases “scariest movie of all time,” and “Nightmares are guaranteed” to attract the audience more into wanting to see the film, as it makes the film seem like a breakthrough and something original. Because this is placed at the top it shows the writing as being very important and urges the audience to ocus on it.
The film's title cleverly uses font styles to make the film seem much more scary. It does this by making the font a crimson red the colour used to usually represent blood. However this could also be used to show the viewer that the spirit is angry as red can also be used to show fury. The distorted san serif font is also used to show off how the film is filmed from the POV of CCTV cameras as it is made to look like it is suffering some sort of connection error and is breaking up. In addition, the shadow behind the text creates that eery feeling that something is lurking, much like the image of the shadowed figure at the door, this further shows off the supernatural theme. The unnatural sizing of the font and the capitalising of the characters make it seem more daunting and fearful, which really contributes to the supernatural horror genre that fits this exact purpose. The red writing also opposes the images blue hue which makes them both stand out separately on the same page.
However, much differently the tagline is a white serif font probably used as a juxtaposition to distinct itself from the evil red writing and create a more pure sense. The rhetorical question “what happens when you sleep” becomes more frightening when the audience realises that when we do sleep the majority of things that happen around us happens without our attention but with the added context of spirits and ghosts this makes the phrase a lot more terrifying thus erging the horror audience to come watch the film so that they can be scared. Also the phrase “don't see it alone” creates a sense of mystery as the audience finds themselves asking “is the film really that scary?” and therefore makes us want to see the film just to find out. The typewriter style font also makes these taglines seem more official and creates the feeling that this is being used as a document.
The poster itself does not feature any credits. In my personal opinion, I believe this is to make the idea of the film being “found footage” highly more believable and to make it seem more real than fictional. Although, it does show the paramount logo at the bottom however it is very small and hard to see when presented by everything else on the poster.
Denotation:
The magazine cover I have chosen features a still photo of a man in a mask which seems to be very damaged and peeling off of his face. His clothes and head are bloody and there is obvious damage to the forehead as we can see by the blood and cuts. It is not obvious what he is doing as we only get to see a medium close up showing his head, shoulders and torso. He could either be marching down a corridor or standing over his prey, but it is not clear to see. This connotes danger as we have no idea what the sinister looking man is doing. The background also features no focus, which shows the magazine is trying to focus on the character rather than the setting. The Masthead is shown above, covering the whole width of the magazine and flooding over the image, rather than sitting behind it. The article that is linked to the photo is in a rusted orange colour and covers the majority of the bottom of the magazine. The bar code can be seen at the bottom left of the page at a 90˚ angle.
Masthead:
In this magazine, the masthead they have used shows it is obviously a horror magazine, this is because it is in a crimson blood red colour, which is obviously very gory it has a white border which allows it to stand out on the magazines background. The font is sans serif making it look more original and authentic, closely resembling the fonts used for classic horror films. Furthermore, the name “Fangoria” is a ‘tongue in cheek,’ combination of the words “fang,” and “gory,” this is a connotation of the genre that the magazine is promoting, as gory is the term used for blood and violence in film and fang an obvious nod to the vampire sub-genre. This is also shown in the font’s style as the “F,” and “A,” at the beginning and end of the word has been shaped to look like vampire fangs. This connotes a sinister magazine and conforms to the horror genre.
Character:
The cover’s photograph features the character Michael Myers, as played by Chase Wright Vanek, from the film “Halloween 2.”
Composition:
He is posed with a slouch either showing he is dragging something or charging towards someone. This is a very terrifying look as we are unsure of what the character is doing.
Costume:
Myers is shown in the photo as wearing a dirt brown coloured jacket, the jacket shown is covered in blood which is obviously not the killers as he is not shown to be cut or injured on the body. The character also conforms to the horror genre as he is shown wearing a horrific mask that is presumably made from skin; the mask also creates enigma as it doesn’t show his identity which creates mystery. His hair is dirty, long and obviously not groomed showing the character is detached from social standards.
NVC:
The character’s Non-verbal communication is shown as sinister and evil as he is slouched as if he is charging at a victim. Moreover, when someone is wearing a mask it hides their expression which adds to the fear factor.
Lighting:
The photograph’s lighting is very high key this is unusual for a picture from a horror film so subverts stereotypical horror images. This shows off all the features of the character subverting typical horror conventions where the lighting is normally low key. Therefore, this shows off all the gory details connoting the explicit content of the film, whereas they would normally be hidden.
Setting:
The setting for this image is very unclear as we cannot really see where the character is. However, we do know he is inside.
Cover lines:
The main cover line is “Rob Zombie’s H2 Exclusive Set Visit!” The font is large and sans serif. The word H2 is the biggest and looks gritty/ dirty, this connotes a stock situation of being chased and falling over into mud. “H2,” references Rob Zombie’s sequel to the remake of “Halloween.” The term “Exclusive set visit!” implies that what this article is giving us is special. The exclamation mark also makes it seem that much more important as it almost seems excited.
The Secondary cover lines feature 4 different movies in their respected movie fonts: “The Final Destination,” “Orphan,” ”Zombie land,” and “Dead Snow.” The reason they are put into these fonts is to make the page look more visually appealing and allows the creepiness of their representing logos to be portrayed… For example, “Orphan,” is in a sketched out childlike writing connoting the films plot of being about an evil child. This subverts conventions as most magazines would usually choose their own font to talk about the film.
Target Audience:
The magazine I have chosen would most likely have a target audience of more mature ages, they would most likely be around 18-30 and an avid horror film fan. This is due to the magazine being concentrated on the horror genre, which may not appeal to all audiences.
